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The EdWeek Research Center surveyed K-12 educators and high school students to learn more about how they view the conditions in their schools. This report highlights findings from surveys conducted in early 2024. The findings shed light on the ways that students' perspectives can differ along socioeconomic lines and provide data on practices that have the potential to improve school environments. [Additional funding was provided by Panorama Education.]

When compared to pre-pandemic scores, results from the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress showed the most substantial declines in 4th and 8th grade math achievement on record. More than one-quarter of 4th graders scored below the basic level of achievement. Roughly 4 in 10 8th grade students scored below the basic achievement level. Those findings are among a cascade of data points indicating the critical need to improve student learning in math. Instructional practices are one of many factors that can influence math achievement. Those instructional practices are often shaped by the training teachers received in postsecondary teacher preparation programs. With the connections between teacher practice and teacher preparation in mind, the EdWeek Research Center surveyed postsecondary instructors charged with preparing prospective teachers for the classroom in order to learn more about how they see math instruction and to compare their views to the perspectives that current K-12 math teachers shared in an earlier survey. A better understanding of any gaps between teacher training and teacher practice can help to ensure K-12 teachers are better prepared for their roles and improve opportunities for K-12 students to learn the math skills they need to be college and career ready.